Summary
Venus Transits Gemini May 1 – 30
Full Moon Eclipse in Libra/Vishaka May 5
Mars Transits Cancer May 10 – July 1
Mercury Direct in Aries May 14
Sun Transits Taurus May 14 – June 15
New Moon in Taurus/Krittika May 19
Venus Joins Mars in Cancer May 30
June 2023 Headlines

Summary

For an in-depth analysis of specific planetary placements, please continue with the full planetary forecast.

Venus Transits Gemini May 1 – 30

Venus in Taurus through April could have been a stabilizing force, but with the multiple chaotic factors at play, it may have been difficult to stay balanced. To review, by the third week of April, there was a chorus of intense influences:

• Solar eclipse on April 20th in Aries during new Moon
• Mercury retrograde began in Aries on April 21st, creating more static in Aries and frustration with Mars in Gemini exchanging signs
• Jupiter entered Aries on April 21st for a one year transit

Venus is the planet that indicates how we connect with others, including the Earth itself. Therefore, many things fall under its umbrella: relationships, politics, family connections, business, partnerships, art and creativity, food, vitality, comfort, enjoyment, and pleasure. Venus' energy tends to make us stick around and attach to things, which when expressed in a balanced way can be supportive and nourishing. When taken too far, Venus can lead us into excess with too much of good things, which then can backfire on our health and happiness.

Venus rules diplomacy and negotiations. With Venus in Taurus in April, we may have felt stuck in old patterns of over giving and conceding when we shouldn't. A negatively expressed Venus can lead us into patterns of self-betrayal when we choose to please others.

When Venus moves out of Taurus and into Gemini on May 1st, we may feel ourselves sliding forward and making changes. Taurus is a fixed environment that can encourage a stubborn attitude toward moving forward. Gemini is an environment of movement, duality, and exchange and Gemini is where we find Venus for the entire month of May.

Gemini is the air sign of Mercury and has been occupied by Mars since March 13th. Mars will shift signs on May 10th, progressing into Cancer. Mars is the planet we look to for power management, resource acquistion, protection, and problem solving. After a long stint in stubborn Taurus, Mars has been making things move in Gemini. Especially with the influx of planets into Aries, Mars has been powerfully conducting those intense transits mentioned above, as the lord of the sign Aries.

May, June, and July 2023 will give us some Venus-Mars interaction, which will then settle down as Venus begins a retrograde phase on July 23rd, putting space between these two planets that carry very human themes of feminine (Venus) and masculine (Mars.)

Venus moving through Gemini in May could be a time when we feel actual movement when it comes to relationships. Taurus could have caused a stall in the dynamic at hand, whether it was joining, splitting, or maintaining.

Gemini is an enviroment for trying out new perspectives and analyzing output. With Mars occupying Gemini through May 10th, and importantly, with the Mars-Mercury exchange still operating, AND with Mercury retrograde until May 14th, and ALSO an eclipse pairing in effect, let's be ready to ride as May begins.

Get grounded and realize you can't pack all of the creature comforts as we take off for an adventurous May that will offer a myriad of opportunities for creative connections and course corrections.

Full Moon Eclipse in Libra/Vishaka May 5

May opens with the Moon in waxing phase, growing stronger each day, which can also translate as an increase in emotional response and irrational inspiration. With all of the above factors operating, it is essential during the end of April and beginning of May to find a way to stay calm, cool, and grounded. Walks in nature are strongly recommended and available to most people in some form.

By May 5th, the Moon has reached 20 degrees Libra, opposing the exalted Sun in Aries during the monthly full Moon moment. This puts the Sun near the shadow planet Rahu and the Moon near the shadow planet Ketu, giving us our second eclipse of 2023. This is a penumbral lunar eclipse visible to Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia, where it will be night during this temporary alignment.

Eclipses on their own are dramatic and intense. This particular one is steeped in an additional strong brew of interesting factors. Fiery Aries holds the strongly exalted Sun, newly initiated Jupiter, retrograde Mercury, and chaotic, charged Rahu. On the other side of the ring, we have a brimmingly full Moon who has just crossed into the nakshatra of Vishaka, shadowed temporarily by Ketu, who is skilled at stopping all of the presses at the drop of a hat. Moon and Ketu meet in Libra, the airy sign of Venus.

Based on the above analysis of Venus moving the Gemini and joining Mars, this lunar eclipse in Venus' sign of relationship and social responsibility could further impact the trajectory that we find ourselves on. Business, marriage, partnerships, politics, and creative collaborations all may come under an umbrella of collective pause at this time.

A particularly interesting feature is that the Moon will have just entered Vishaka nakshatra which spans from 20 degrees Libra to 3 degrees 20 minutes Scorpio; a bridge between the air sign of Venus and the water sign of Mars. Vishaka is ruled by Jupiter and shows us the symbols of a lightening bolt or an arched gateway, both of which imply a transformative action. On a physical level, with the elements of air and water being stirred about, we could experience some stormy weather.

Another interesting note is that the rulers of the signs that are hosting these eclipses, Venus and Mars, are somewhat removed from the actual eclipse, sitting together in Gemini. However, due to the exchange of signs between Mars and Mercury and with Mercury's agitated retrograde state, it does pull the Mars and Venus pairing into play.

As we pull out of this short period of intense astrological weather, we may find ourselves sitting with an entirely revamped perspective about who we are, what we want, and about the people around us who play important roles in our lives.

Mars Transits Cancer May 10 – July 1

Mars represents our capacity for strength and power management. Mars rules two signs in the zodiac, the first sign, Aries, associated with the head, where power is managed through strategy and leadership, and the eighth sign, Scorpio, associated with the tail, implying the underside of life where powerful forces exercise unseen.

As ruler of these environments, we can see Mars manifest in a fiery Aries style, pushing forward and pioneering and we can also see Mars manifest in a watery, icy Scorpio style, anchoring us deeply in an effort to maintain power through stability.

During the Gemini transit between March 13th and May 10th, we can expect a more explosive, fiery expression of Mars, especially due to the exchange of sign rulers that ties Mars into the very active environment of Aries at this time.

Mars moving into Cancer from May 10th through July 1st could feel like a sudden plunge into the river, both shocking and refreshing at once. Each of the planets has a sign where it struggles to express its inherent gifts. For Mars, that place is Cancer, the sign ruled by the Moon, a place of vulnerability in the zodiac where the powerful Mars appears incongruent.

In some natal charts, Mars in Cancer shows up in people who are successful competitive athletes. People with Mars in Cancer know how to deal with disappointment and keep on trying, finding a channel for their frustration and fire. In this light, we all have this opportunity from mid-May through June.

The first thing we may feel is the breaking of the parivartana, exchange of signs, between retrograde Mercury in Aries and Mars in Gemini. This could feel like unplugging from a very fast developing, confusing situation into a quickly moving stream that refocuses your attention onto obstacles ahead.

From Cancer, Mars will push his energy through aspect into the signs of Libra, Capricorn, and Aquarius, which could actually provide the force that some of us have been waiting for to move things forward.

Libra has been occupied by Ketu since April 2022 and will move into Virgo in November 2023. Ketu tends to obstruct, split, or reverse, which can be useful in certain cases but quite difficult in others. With Mars pushing from Cancer, we may find that the solutions to our puzzles begin to emerge.

Capricorn always welcomes Mars energy and those with this sign prominent in their charts may feel encouraged to keep moving deliberately forward. What may have been a source of contention and frustration through the spring may evolve into a nice set of flippers that swims you further ahead than you expected.

Aquarius receiving Mars' deep push could feel the most uncomfortable, yet the most liberating. Saturn is currently plodding forward in Aquarius, aspecting Mars' fire sign and all of the planets that have been passing through since April. Saturn's influence tends to slow things down; Mars pushing back may enable us to leap frog over obstacles and move forward in more radical ways.

Mercury Direct in Aries May 14

After Mars unplugs from the dynamic fueling the sign of Aries, Mercury still placed in Aries will resume direct motion. Which is a questionable status due to how close Mercury will be to Rahu, who tends to amplify energy enough to mimic retrograde status.

With the Sun about to exit Aries right after Mercury resumes direct motion in mid-May, it may be a good time to sit and think things through for a moment before making sudden moves. We are all coming out of an active time. Minds will be racing, egos will be inflamed, and the helpers will be trying to figure out where to find the bandages.

The mechanism that was born from Mercury entering Aries on March 31st and spinning until Mars exits Gemini on May 10th, could have revived ideas that were born a few years ago, when Rahu transited Gemini from April 2019 – September 2020. As we know, a global pandemic sprung up at that time that changed the course for almost everyone on the planet. Now may be the time to collect those unexpressed remnants from 2020 and retool them for what's happening now.

Give Mercury a week after resuming direct motion for things to settle down to a manageable speed before diving deep into long term commitments. Mercury resumes direct motion at about 12 degrees Aries and travels through the remaining part of Aries until June 7th, when Mercury skids into Taurus for some rejuvenation time on the farm.

This three week stretch from May 14th through June 7th should be helpful in getting reorganized, assessing new levels of resources and recalibrating for moving forward. Use the flexible intelligence of Mercury to maximize efficiency and shore up strategies.

Sun Transits Taurus May 14 – June 15

The Sun will be the first of the eclipse characters to move out of Aries, blazing through Taurus from May 14th through June 15th. The Sun operates at his strongest capacity while in Aries, in most years championing the individual self into personal acheivements. Things were more complicated this year due to Rahu's presence there, causing eclipses and blowing smoke.

For most of us, the Sun moving into Taurus this year should give us some clarity about where we're looking to plant our seeds in the near future. As the spring moves into summer, we will see our chain of planets spreading out once again, which helps us all to see more clearly.

Sun in Taurus can inspire us to live more closely with the earth, enjoying the rejuvantive powers of nature and getting back to the birds and bees. This is a good time to settle down and listen for new creative inspiration. Especially after such an intense April, this is a directive to slow down and enjoy life as the quickening of late spring intensifies.

New Moon in Taurus/Krittika May 19

The waning Moon slips in to join the Sun in Taurus for the new Moon on May 19th. The luminaries meet at 5 degrees Taurus, which falls in the nakshatra Krittika, close to the degree of exaltation for the Moon.

This will be the first new Moon after an eclipse pairing. This is also a few days after Mars has pulled the plug and dipped into the Moon's sign of Cancer. When the Moon is waning and getting to the point of meeting with the Sun, we see less and less light reflected. In our bodies, the energy could also feel low, ebbing away, leaving us feeling depleted.

May 19th is a Friday. Setting the weekend up as a mini-retreat could be very helpful in getting energy back on track and checking in with physical and mental health and wellness. Good food, comfortable friends, relaxing environments, and quiet moments could be powerful at this time.

Venus Joins Mars in Cancer May 30

After the quick trip through Gemini, Venus continues to pursue Mars into Cancer on May 30th. This pairing prevails through June, moving through the watery, sensitive, and emotional environment of the Moon's sign.

With Venus and Mars joining in the waters of Cancer during June, we can expect some messy, passionate energy. The idealistic environment of Gemini can be used to bring balance and reckoning into relationships and business arrangements before we take this plunge. May is the time to work things out in your personal transactions, pay your debts, clarify contracts, and let go of mechanisms that aren't contributing to your personal accounts.

June 2023 Headlines

Venus in Cancer May 30 – July 7
Full Moon in Scorpio/Jyestha June 3
Mercury in Taurus June 7 – June 24
Sun in Gemini June 15 – July 16
Saturn Retrograde in Aquarius June 17 – November 4
New Moon in Gemini/Mrigashira June 17
Mercury in Gemini June 24 – July 8
Mars in Leo June 30 – August 18